Emmanuel Vanbrussel

Family officers serving wealthy Belgian families often prove more willing to take risks than their clients. Aligning perspectives usually requires careful techniques, according to research by Sam Bossuyt at Ghent University.

Belgium’s impact investing sector has plenty of untapped potential, says Pierre Harkay, CEO of Impact Finance Belgium.

Private banks race for growth as ‘hunters’ return to favour. Who wins the client, and who keeps them loyal?

Delen Private Bank is exploring plans to establish a permanent presence in Zurich. This would be its second Swiss base, after Geneva.

Paris-based platform to distribute private market investments via Belgian private banks and family offices. The Paris-based platform Private Corner is making its first move outside of France, aiming to sell private market investments to wealthy Belgian investors through the distribution networks of private banks and family offices.

It’s a question that concerns every asset manager: to what extent are defense and weapons stocks compatible with the sustainable principles of ESG? A joint report by the labeling organizations Forum Ethibel (Belgium) and LuxFLAG (Luxembourg) doesn’t provide a definitive answer but does outline the many dilemmas involved.

Once again, voices are rising to transfer the 195 billion euro in Russian assets frozen at Brussels-based securities depository Euroclear into a European investment vehicle. But within the Belgian camp, there’s growing concern that doing so would open Pandora’s box.

Diversification remains the cornerstone of asset allocation, investment strategists agreed at Investment Officer’s Portfolio Day, as volatility upends assumptions about safe assets.

Just two weeks ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, former Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme has sharply criticized the alliance’s proposed five-percent-of-GDP defense target, calling it a “collective irrationality” that risks overwhelming European decision-making.

Are defense investments compatible with the principles of sustainable investing? At a conference in Brussels, the answers ranged from “maybe” to a firm “no”.